“Thank god for Hall H”: Matthew Vaughn’s Most Underrated Superhero Movie Was Saved by Fans After Studios Didn’t Want to Touch it for a Bizarre Reason
Matthew Vaughn is one of the most accomplished directors in the industry, celebrated for his innovative approach to storytelling. His directorial style is highly characterized by a seamless fusion of genres, particularly his all-time best superhero, Kick-Ass, where he masterfully blends cinematic elements and creates quirky and endearing characters embodied in stylized aesthetics.
Despite its widespread reception, Vaughn was initially met with rejection from studios when he pitched the idea for Kick-Ass. However, Vaughn’s persistence and belief in his movie finally paid off when the film garnered a dedicated fan base.
Matthew Vaughn mortgaged his house to make Kick-Ass
The Kick-Ass movies firmly succeeded in reinventing the superhero genre by presenting a gritty and realistic portrayal of an ordinary individual becoming a crime-fighting vigilante. Based on Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.’s graphic novels of the same name, Kick-Ass was a testament that defied all of the conventional superhero genres by introducing a gritty and complex narrative to its domain.
While discussing the movie in the evening panel of the New York Comic Con, Matthew Vaughn reflected on the challenges that he experienced with making the original Kick-Ass. Vaughn who had such confidence in his project put himself at financial risk even “betting his house” for his film.
Also Read: Marvel Reportedly Scrapping Wonder Man Series After Samuel L. Jackson’s Secret Invasion Failure
Despite his passion, he even failed to find distributors for his films, who were initially skeptical about the film’s potential. The turning point came when his clips of the film were showcased at the San Diego Comic-Con, a major event for pop culture and entertainment.
Eventually, the positive responses from fans essentially forced Hollywood to reevaluate his project, Vaughn recalled.
“Thank God for Hall H, because we showed the movie, or they showed clips of the movie, after Avatar — so I really thought it was a screw. The fans went so crazy that the sheep of Hollywood decided that maybe there was something in here that the fans might like. So, they went for it.”
The 2010 Kick-Ass gained a massive reception and grossed $96 million at the worldwide box office. While the 2013 sequel directed by Jeff Wadlow, reportedly couldn’t live up to the same level of success as its predecessor, which garnered mostly negative reviews and lamented the lack of witty writing and subversive storytelling.
Matthew Vaughn announced the Kick-Ass reboot and filming plans.
Back in 2010, when the cinematic industry was ruled by superhero movies in terms of box office numbers, there was a growing appetite for fresh and irreverent approaches to stories that often pushed the traditional boundaries of the genre. During this phase, precisely Kick-Ass made its mark.
Though it has been more than a decade since his superhero cinematic success, Matthew Vaughn has decided to revive his Kick-Ass franchise. While speaking at session the Vaughn revealed that he will not only be heading a new incarnation of the Kick-Ass franchise and will be accompanied by a new creative team cast.
“Kick-Ass sort of changed people’s perception of what a superhero film is at that time. So, we’ll be doing it again. So, it’s none of the characters from the other Kick-Ass. We’d like to bring them back after the reboot. This reboot is just going off on a tangent that I can’t really talk about now. But it’s fun.”
Also Read: Moon Knight Season 2 Reportedly in Development
He also added that the reboot will probably start filming by the very next year. While Kick-Ass 3 is on the table, it is unclear to what extent Vaughn is actively engaged in the project. Unless there is a new cast and storyline, it is unclear whether he is involved in writing and directing or if he might simply hand over the concept to another filmmaker.
